My Fallen Angel
by adrenaline.rushh
Summary: How can you fall in love with someone who's your best friend AND your soon-to-be stepbrother? TroyxGabriella/Troyella.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Troy Bolton or Gabriella Montez sadly. :(**

**A/N: The summary seems a little iffy, but I assure you, they are NOT BLOOD-RELATED WHATSOEVER! This is still about the same story as it was on xXbrokenangelwingsXx. She threw it at me after having no time, wanting me to change the plot a little, and rewrite the story--so I did. Don't forget to leave a review. ;)**

**Prologue**

I've always known him as a brother. He was my best friend, my rock, the one who I could count on for anything.

He'd be there no matter what because simply, I needed him.

And he wasn't your typical basketball-playing jock; he wasn't moronic like people claimed him to be, nor was he a spoiled brat like the media portrayed him. And lastly, he wasn't a jerk just because he was captain of his Los Angeles high school's basketball team.

I could go on and on about what he meant to me; I could write a million adjectives defining how I felt about him in my life.

Never would I think the word "_love_" would come in handy.

His name? _Troy Bolton_.

And yes, I'm pretty sure I love him… Even though it kills me to the core and sends shivers down my spine just thinking about that repulsive, disgusting, nauseating four-lettered word. To me, it was about as bad as _shit_, or _fuck_, or _slut_.


	2. Reunited

**Disclaimer: I own nothing other than a few original characters!**

**A/N: They are NOT blood-related. They never will be.**

**Reunited**

Moving somewhere knew is always hard—especially when you have to start your entire life over again.

I've always been my own provider. I can't remember the last time I was able to rely on someone else to put food on the table for my siblings, mother, and me.

I was basically called to court because of ONE, idiotic little ticket. I went like, what?—Eight miles over the speed limit? For crying out loud, I was rushing to my sister Lynn's soccer game! She didn't even want me to be there; I was just being the supportive person I am, and I get this punishment in return. What has the world become?

Anyway, so I show up at court, ready to pay the fine, and before I know it, they are pulling out my file (I didn't know they had files for people, not to mention they had one especially for me), and they decide that I didn't have a stable enough living situation.

Social Services sent my alcoholic mother to rehab, and sent me to…to my—my _dad_. I can't even say that without having to choke down my spit. They said that they could only get in touch with my father. His family was willing to take my siblings and me in and support us. With the job that he apparently had, my brothers and sisters could have a way better life.

Now let me tell you what's wrong with the situation:

First, I HAVE NEVER MET MY DAD BEFORE.

Second, IT'S THREE STATES AWAY IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

And third, I HAVE TO MOVE!

Don't get me wrong; I could definitely get some _major_ improvements with the way I was living, but I didn't need to move THREE FREAKING STATES away from all my family and friends. Well, mostly friends considering my relatives live all across the country, and I never see them.

I was the oldest in the family, obviously, so I had four younger siblings.

Derek was the oldest of them, coming at fourteen years of age; Lynn and Chase came in second, twins at thirteen; and finally, Lilly, the most adorable four-year-old you will ever meet.

My mom was never really normal. She hated traditions, rules, and all that kind of stuff. That's why Derek and I share the same dad, and Lynn and Chase have another dad (which they've met) in upstate New York, and Lilly has her own biological father somewhere in Atlanta. She's never even been married before.

The only time I have ever met any of the dads in my family was that one snowy winter in Atlanta, and it was Lilly's dad. I was there with my mom to discuss alimony. All our fathers sent in money, and we had plenty for food and clothes, but that was about it. No video games, no cell phones (except for me since I took care of the family), no computers, and no allowances.

So back to moving…

We were currently stuffed into my Mini-Cooper, driving to my dad's house. I called him a few times, just to talk to him and to get to know him a little. He told me he had a surprise for me and my siblings. He tried to convince me that it was great in California. With the way he was praising the beautiful sun, he sounded like he was trying to sell insurance to me. I still doubted his advertisement even as he attempted to tell me about the abundant supply of boys. Yeah, he said that. It only reminded me of one of the very limited pros of moving to Los Angeles: my best friend Troy, who I only communicate with through text and email.

We knew each other from school. We went to the same daycare, then preschool, and then from Kindergarten all the way to seventh grade. We were really close and we told each mostly everything from crushes, to enemies, to teachers that we despised. His dad got a job transfer, so they moved. He didn't say too much, only leaving a note with one of my close friends to give me. It just had his email and that's how we still talked. He didn't know me that well anymore, so every time I asked him for advice, it was sort of anonymous because I had no idea what he looked like after four years, and he had no clue what I'd become. And when he didn't answer my email or text back for a day or two, I'd get worried. It was natural.

We arrived at the house with the U-Haul tailing us. It was a good 16-hour drive (I accidentally took a detour), so everyone was basically passed out.

I honked the horn, and all except Lilly jumped. Lilly was still sleeping, like her fairytale world would never end. They slowly opened their eyes to the blinding sun.

"We're here," I said with a sigh. "Let's get this over with."

I started getting out of the car toward the back door, to carry Lilly.

The five of us stood in front of the towering mansion. It was HUGE. The stucco sides were all yellowish, giving off an American household feel. The walk up to the front door had me breathless already, but then we had to climb about 20 steps until we reached the actual entrance. I was still carrying Lilly in my arms. It was harder than usual since she was all limp and unconscious.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked Derek as I noticed is sudden stiffness. I've never seen him nervous. He was usually always laidback, keeping his cool.

He nodded as a reassurance and softened slightly from being tense.

Lynn gently pressed the doorbell. I could tell she was as nervous as I was to see Derek's and my father whom we'd be living with for the next, oh I would say, year and a half? Until our mom was fully recovered, at least.

A middle-aged woman opened the door with my dad at her side. She looked oddly familiar…sort of like a PTA mom. Or maybe a model. I wasn't sure, but it seemed like I knew her.

"You must be Gabriella!" She greeted me with a full-on hug. "I'm so happy to meet you!"

Who was this lady, and why was she hugging me?

"And who's this?" She pinched Lilly's left cheek. She was wide awake now. Lilly squirmed and hid her face in my shoulder.

"Her name is Lilly," I answered.

My dad whispered something in her ear that made her suddenly realize something. I took in my father's features, making the first imprint of his face in my mind.

He had a scruffy beard. His hair was dark along with his even toned skin. He looked like an Asian and Caucasian mix. His skin complexion made me realize he probably had a lot of ethnicities within his blood. That's most likely why Derek and I don't look too alike with the twins or Lilly.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Come in, come in. I didn't mean to keep you waiting there. This is your new home now. You're welcome anywhere. You guys can go ahead and run upstairs to choose which rooms you'd like."

Everyone treaded into the house. Derek walked slowly with me, embracing the fact that we were going to be living with our biological father.

My father just stood there, smiling at Derek and me.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, the first time I'd ever heard his voice without a phone.

Derek took Lilly from my arms. "Sure."

The twins raced up the stairs to pick their bedrooms since they were stoked to finally not have to share a room just because they shared the same birthdate. The familiar lady walked off also, leaving us to follow our father.

The first thing that caught my eye was the gigantic living room. The ceiling-to-floor window had black and white striped drapes that fell to the floor. It was all black and white with the occasional red pillow and red polka dots over the curtains. The whole color scheme was pulled together by the center vase on the glass coffee table that contained fresh white and red roses. The couches were fine leather, and they faced a 60" plasma screen TV. The TV was surrounded by expensive equipment like stereos and surround sound systems.

I turned to my left and saw the amazing dining room that had dark mahogany table set. Behind it lay a big, glass chinaware shelf.

I kept walking, being completely blown away by each and every magazine-perfect room until I reached the kitchen.

This kitchen was full of high-tech appliances. There was stainless steel everywhere I turned my head. I took one look at the advanced toaster, and felt as if I had re-flunked my Calculus test.

I snuck a glance at my brother, and he had the same expression that was probably on my face.

"So what do you think of the house?" Our dad asked from behind me.

"It's absolutely breath-taking. They look like they've been taken out of those home décor magazines."

"No, the magazines actually take it from the house. Lucy designed every room."

"That's pretty cool, Dad. Is it okay if I call you that?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I mean, we're just getting to know each other so if you feel more comfortable calling me Eric, that's fine, too."

"Oh, okay." I glanced at the high ceiling and back at his face. "So who's Lucy?"

He sighed. "You know how I said I had a surprise?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, she's my… girlfriend. We've been dating for seven years now, and she and her family has been living with me for awhile now."

Right then, Lucy appeared from the doorframe and went towards Eric—I decided I was going call him that until this situation felt more home-y.

"Have you by any chance walked through Nordstrom?" she asked us.

"Of course," Derek answered.

"I'm Lucille Bolton, but call me Lucy."

"Are you _the_ Lucille Bolton? The wedding dress designer?" I was seriously considering one of her classics for my wedding back when I was 12.

"That would be me… I also do interior designing, and formal dress designing."

"WHAT? You are like, officially, the coolest person I've ever met in my entire life!" I exclaimed.

I was being serious. I practically worshipped this woman already. Fashion designing was my passion. I kept telling my mother that there was a reason as to why I kept cutting my Barbies' clothes when I was three.

As I got to obsessing over fashion and designing, Eric and Derek (I realized that their names rhymed) both dispersed. Lucille Bolton was like the instant male-repellant.

"Where's the rest of your family?" I asked, quickly getting off topic after hearing her last name was Bolton. Maybe I'd see Troy sooner than I thought.

"Troy's coming back from basketball practice in just a few minutes, and Ben is probably still at work."

My jaw dropped open.

"Troy Bolton is your son?"

She didn't answer because of the slamming of a door in the three-car garage.

"Looks like Troy's back. Feel free to do whatever you want. I have to go finish up a few sketches of spring jackets. Nice talking to you." She smiled and went away. I honestly couldn't tell you where she went because of the largeness of the house.

"I'M HOME!" I heard a deep voice call.

The door—which I assumed would be the garage door—slammed shut, and in came a shirtless guy with the body of a god. (No, not Buddha…)

His eyes were the bluest of all blue eyes I had ever come across in my 16 years of life. I instantly recognized them, even though they'd become a distant memory. His hair was much darker than I remembered, and his teeth were perfectly white.

He was rather sweaty at the moment, but he still looked like the most gorgeous man to enter the world. To me, at least.

He stared back as I drooled dumbly at his beauty. Did I seriously know him?

"Whoa, I knew that new kids were moving in with us, but… Gabriella? Is that you?"

**This is like a filler chapter. The next chapters won't be as long because shorter chapters mean more updates faster. :)**


	3. Change

**Disclaimer: I own nothing other than a few original characters!**

"He-hey," I stuttered stupidly.

"Gabs!" He ran over to me and just as he was about to give me a hug, he pulled back. "Sorry, I'm a little… sweaty right now. I'm going to go take a shower later, but I can't believe you're here!"

I nodded, still feeling a bit dizzy. "That's me. Always surprising people…" I trailed off.

"The last day of seventh grade was the _best_ day ever. That was the last time we got to see each other, right?"

I felt kind of bad about not remembering it too well. I could only recall the little pouches of Capri Sun that our teacher threw at us.

"Um, yeah…I'm sure that was when we saw each other last." I wanted to slap myself for sounding like such a retard.

"So anyway, I'm gonna go take a shower…" he said, looking at his rather sweaty body.

"You go do that. You're very dirty."

WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING? _You're very dirty_?! Well of course he's dirty! He was at the gym!

Oh, God… I think I might faint.

I waved weakly as he jogged away into the living room and up the stairs, passing the gorgeous diamond chandelier. As he left, I swear I heard him mumble, "This is awesome."

I walked back over to the counter and pulled out the stool to sit. I curled my head into my arms and mumbled to myself, "I'm such a retard."

I stopped moping eventually and decided to go explore my room. Derek had already informed me that Eric and Lucy had specifically labeled the best room in the house with my initials, so I wasn't in any hurry to hog a room.

I first headed outside to the car to get my basic toiletries and audio equipment. My Mini-Cooper was stuffed with various duffle bags and suitcases.

Derek came out after me. I assumed he was going to help bring our stuff into the house.

"Dude! My room is loaded! There's a stereo, a Macbook, and a 20" plasma screen. They told us to choose the rooms we want, when everything is laid out just for each of us. I mean, my walls are filled with posters of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, the Hush Sound, and Gym Class Heroes. Lynn has a bunch of soccer stuff and David Beckham posters and various makeup crap. Chase has his own drum set and all those geeky model airplanes. Lilly has pictures of all the Disney princesses and the Cheetah Girls. We even have a _game_ room. There's every awesome game system you could ever think of from the Nintendo Wii, to the Playstation 3!"

While he talked, I could only think of one thing: how could so much change in so little time?

"Sounds pretty cool to me," I replied.

"Your room is by far the best, though, I must say. I'm not gonna spoil it for you, just so you can get the full effect."

I laughed a little at his absurdity.

We both pulled a bunch of suitcases full of clothes onto the lawn and reached for the more important personal items that each person had packed.

I walked back into the house with Chase, Lilly, and my bags slung over my shoulder. I would eventually have to go back outside and get all our actual clothes, but for now, I just wanted to check out my supposed-to-be "ripped" room. I treaded slowly up the wooden stairs, my hand gently gliding along the metal handrail.

I tossed their bags right in front of their bedroom doors. The fat letters that were already mounted on their doorframes told me which rooms were theirs.

I finally turned back toward that door that so clearly had "G.M." engraved.

I took a deep breath before slowly turning the brass doorknob.

The first thing that caught my vision was the bright green couch that leaned against the blue canopied bed. There were balcony doors on the east side of the room. I had a big white desk with a Macbook lying on top of it, a huge iPod dock stereo on the dresser, along with the second generation iPod Touch. Directly above the dresser was a 36" Sony plasma screen. There was a PS2 hooked to it, and Guitar Hero III was already on and ready to go. Not only did I have a lot of expensive furniture, the room was also GIGANTIC. Each corner of the room had a bean bag of all assorted colors. Next to the desk was a giant reading chair. The carpet was bleached white. I saw two doors and went to go explore some more. The first door led to a walk-in closet that was about the size of half of the original bedroom itself. The second door led to a bathroom with a Jacuzzi and golden shower heads. Everything was already set for me. There was a billion hair products, body wash bottles, lotion, just EVERYTHING.

I ran back out of the bathroom and checked out my stocked bookshelf. It had all the Jane Austen classics, along with the entire Twilight series, and all my other favorite books.

All this led to my next thought… How'd they know everything about us? I mean, I guess it was my _dad_, but I haven't met him before today. Were they like, you know, _stalking_ us?

I shook off the stupid thought and walked towards the balcony doors. I pushed them open to reveal a setting sun. The sky was beautiful in the way it accentuated pink with blue. The moon was beginning to show, and the air was fresh against my skin. I loved the relaxing feeling.

I enjoyed the view for a great while, but then I decided to lie down on my bed and really indulge in my current state of happiness.

Before I knew it, Lynn was knocking on my door.

"Come in," I had to call since the door was so far away.

A giddy Lilly came charging at my bed. When she reached the edge of it, she held her arms up, signaling me to carry her up. Lynn followed behind Lilly, but was taking a little longer from admiring everything I was given.

I reached down and pulled Lilly onto my bed, and Lynn joined us.

"It's almost dinnertime. We have like five minutes," Lynn said.

"So what's up?" I asked, patting my bed invitingly for her.

"I don't know… it just seems too good to be true, you know?" Lynn went ahead and admitted as she climbed up.

"I like it," Lilly objected.

"No, Lilly, I didn't say I didn't like it. I just meant that this was all just handed to us. One moment we were living in a three-bedroom apartment with six people, and the next we have our own posters and stereos. We went from having nothing to having everything."

"I know it's going a little fast. It's the same for me, you know. Just promise me that you'll keep your head in the right place. Don't let yourself change just because your environment has changed, okay? I love you both." I leaned in for a group hug.

"I love you, too, Gabs," Lynn replied.

"I love her more!" Lilly squealed.

I kissed both their foreheads and helped them off the rather high bed. "Come on. It's the first dinner with our new family."

**Review :D**


	4. Cringe

**Disclaimer: I own nothing other than a few original characters (And for most of the places that are mentioned: if you haven't heard of it, chances are that they are fictional)!**

**Enjoy!**

**Cringe**

Derek, Lynn, Chase, Lilly, and I shuffled awkwardly downstairs to dinner. Back at our old house, we ate dinner whenever we wanted. We rarely had the entire family sit down together to eat an entire meal in peace. Whenever we actually ate together, we usually ended up fighting with my mom about our financial instability with the gas prices all over the place and the prices of everything in general sky-rocketing. With her alcoholism, plates would eventually be thrown and you'd have to dodge them like bullets. So, if Derek ever tells you the whole story about how he fell off his bike after dodging a pick-up truck that was coming his way when he was 10, you'll know the _actual_ story of how he got that faint scar beneath his right dimple.

This was completely new to me. I've seen people do this on TV and in movies, but I never thought I'd ever be a part of it.

Simply put, I was scared to death about what I should say.

I mean, I had the main gist of it. All you do is talk about your life…_right_?

I snuck a look over at Derek, but along the way of searching for his face, I saw fear and nervousness in all my other siblings' eyes.

_We can do this_, I told myself, _just be normal. Lucille's pretty cool. Troy's gorgeous and still my best friend. How bad could it be?_

We got to the nice kitchen and I saw another new face.

"Hey kids, this is Nathan. He lives across the street," Lucille introduced him.

Then, a very tall guy walked out of the bathroom. He had sandy blonde hair and greenish-gray eyes.

"Hey dudes, I'm Ben."

We waved a bit, and stood there. Who would sit where?

Mr. Bolton saw the stillness of our statures so he gestured gently at the seats. "Sit wherever you want."

"Thanks, Dad," Derek said. I felt kind of bad since I didn't feel as comfortable calling him that. I didn't feel comfortable calling _anyone_ that.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, looking down at his food.

I wandered toward the seat beside Troy, and made my way so that I was actually sitting.

"Hey," Troy said to me. "I'm clean now." He leaned over and hugged me. "I still can't believe it. You've changed."

His eyes seemed to sparkle as he said that.

"Change? Really? Is it a bad change or a good change?" I blurted out, still stunned by his glory.

"Good, definitely."

As the whole family was chattering about who-knows-what, everyone just stopped at once.

Next thing I knew, everyone was bowing their heads except for my brothers and sisters and me. I shot a worried glance at Derek, and we both just bowed our heads to follow the rest.

"Heavenly Father, I thank you for this food that we are about to take. Through Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen," Jack said.

I've never said grace before a meal in my entire life. I just nodded and mimicked whatever Troy did.

There was already food on my plate, and I started with the steak. This was probably the first time in a long time that the food I was eating wasn't either burnt, microwaved, or stale.

In fact, it was DELICIOUS. I went for the mashed potatoes and gravy, and then the mac-and-cheese—again, not microwaved.

The entire family talked about school, sports, cooking, sports, grades, sports, music, sports, and current events. Oh, and did I mention sports? It was like what defined their family. Their entire clan could talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers for the entire day, and then go about the next day about the Atlanta Thrashers.

The annoying thing was that the rest of my family could go on about it also: Derek about skateboarding, Lynn about soccer, Chase about soccer and hockey, and even Lilly could talk about her ice-skating.

But not me. I—the retarded older sibling who quit sports to support a whole family of six and one dog—enrolled myself in gymnastics when I was nine, and made it to Level 6 in only three years. People said I was good, but I begged to differ. I couldn't suffer the intensity of regret or remorse of quitting where I was at that point of my life.

I sat there, my stomach fully content, for the cue for me to leave, but it didn't come. Instead, Lucille got up and brought a chocolate pie to the table that was on a china plate.

She cut out a piece, first for her husband, then Ben, and circled the table all the way until it got to Troy and me.

If the main meal was good, then this was heaven.

I ate slowly: stabbing it with my fork, then bringing it to my mouth.

The entire time I thought _Don't look too stupid in front of Troy, please!_

And seriously… I didn't want him to think I was retarded even though it was hard not to after everything that I had said earlier. Sure, he knew me as a person already, but your first impression of meeting them is completely different.

Nathan and Troy got up and brought their plates to the sink. I followed shortly, joining Lynn and Derek.

I had a feeling that I had chocolate pie smothered all over my mouth, so I went into my room to freshen up for bed before Troy could say anything to me. I got ready for bed way earlier than I actually got _into_ my bed. I wouldn't sleep until very early in the morning taking care of household chores, but then after I was done, I could pass out without having to go and brush my teeth or take a shower.

It was then that I realized I didn't have my clothes and they were probably still sprawled out on the lawn.

I treaded slowly back down the stairs to retrieve my clothes.

I opened the front door and was relieved to see that no suitcase burglar came to steal them. I bent down to pick up Lynn and Derek's suitcases, surprised at how much they packed.

One moment I'm struggling with the weight of these two extremely heavy bags, and the next I find these tan-skinned hands helping me with them.

I look up and see that Troy Bolton was leaning so close to me that his glowing brown hair hit my eyelashes.

"Can I help you with that?" he asked in a sweet voice.

"Um, yeah," I replied dumbly yet again.

I watched him pick them up easily with his muscular arms.

"That's a nice leather sweater you got there," I commented. WHAT'S WITH THIS ENDLESS STREAM OF EMBARASSING STATEMENTS?!

Let me tell you the two main things wrong with that sentence…

1) He wasn't wearing leather.

2) It wasn't a sweater, but a regular, long-sleeved, cotton shirt!

"I mean—shirt. That's a nice shirt," I corrected myself even though it was too late.

"Thanks… I guess."

I mentally cursed at myself and followed him back into the house with Derek and Lilly's bags, both of which were rather light.

He dropped them off at the top of the stairs and waited for me to put mine down.

"Hey, I'm going to the beach party their having down at St. Marcela's tonight. I wasn't planning on bringing anyone, since I didn't know you were moving in with us, but... Do you want to come with me? I think I was supposed to invite some friends, but all my friends are going with their girlfriends," Troy said.

I smiled at the thought of hanging out with him at the beach.

"Sure. That'll be fun," I accepted. Wow… That was the first not-so-stupid thing I've said to him ever since I entered the house. "When does it start?"

"Now. Well, actually in like 30 minutes, but it takes about that long to walk there."

"Oh, okay. Let me go get a jacket."

I ran toward my new room and grabbed the blue North Face jacket that was sitting on my bed from earlier today.

I got back to Troy and we walked out the house, through the neighborhood, and on our way to the beach.

It was rather quiet at first.

My mind kept bickering with itself while we continued to walk. Should I say something? Should I wait until he has something to say? What should I do?

Soon enough, he started conversation himself.

"So… You're starting school on Monday **(I don't remember what day I said it was earlier in the story, so I'm making it Saturday) **at Aldridge, right?"

"I hope so. Thanks for picking up my schedule, by the way. I was wondering, though, how you didn't come across my name in the process. You were bound to see the name _Gabriella Montez_ written somewhere."

"No problem. I wasn't the one who asked for it. My mom made the calls and all that. All I did was show up at the front office to get it," Troy explained.

"Oh, right." I sighed. "How could this be? It's a one-in-a-million chance that your mom would be dating my dad. It's another one-in-a-hundred chance that my mom would end up where she is and I'd have to move in with my dad. You living with my dad is a one-in-a-thousand chance, and living under the same roof as each other in Los Angeles without knowing that were going to is totally a one-in-a-billion chance. So how many zeroes is that?"

He chuckled. "Shouldn't you know? Last time I checked, you got a 5 on your Pre-Calculus AP Final, and I just flunked my last math quiz."

"So in other words, you're saying that I'm smarter than you?"

"Basically," he admitted, smiling. "So how do you like LA so far?"

We passed a sea of stones and pebbles as I answered.

"There are a lot of cars… and traffic. And it's pretty loud. I don't like being around all these rich people." Once I started, I kind of accidentally went on about everything I didn't like. "The pollution seems pretty bad. There's no place around here where it's just open space. I feel like I might run into Paris Hilton if I'm not careful, and I hate how there aren't too many trees other than palms. But… I like your house. And your family. Two big pluses."

"Oh jeez, thanks. But you're right. My house _is_ pretty cool. And my family _is_ pretty awesome," he joked. "Just kidding. It's kind of _our_ house now."

"Any other amazing things I should know about?" I teased.

"Yeah, actually… The dork that lives across the street, Nathan—the one who was at dinner—has almost everything the White House has and more. Oh, and it's pretty cool having three new sisters, and two new brothers."

I nodded.

"Of course. Now I have two extra brothers." I went along with it.

We stopped talking for a moment as the music got louder and louder. I could hear the splashing ocean water. As we walked toward the bonfire, two guys were having a chugging contest. I assumed it was beer, but I was wrong. The aroma that tequila gave off was all too familiar to me. These people really were rich.

Troy walked over to the party table.

He reached over and grabbed two cans of beer. He held one out to me. "Want one?"

I shook my head quickly and reached for a bottle of water. "No, sorry, I don't drink."

Alcohol has brought me way too much trouble in life for me to start drinking again.

He looked down at the tin cans and shrugged. He tossed one back into the iced cooler and popped the other open.

Seeing him drink killed me on the inside. I couldn't describe how I felt whenever I saw my mom drink, and watching anyone that meant something to me do it, even for fun, just made me cringe, knowing what it did to me.

**So I posted this one pretty early because I won't be able to get another chapter for another week. Although, if you review, I'll work extra hard! :)**


	5. Marshmallow

**Disclaimer: I own nothing other than a few original characters!**

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long.**

He held his beer while I was accompanied by my water bottle. I followed him, swerving though everyone at the party.

He brought me to the second bonfire. There were a few teenagers leaning on each other, hanging out. They were probably his friends.

"Hey guys," Troy greeted them. "This is my friend Gabriella. She just moved in with us."

I was surprised how everyone just accepted that. Back at my old house, they would charge me with questions and you'd have to try your best to dodge them.

"Gabriella, this is Sarah, Jake, Mitchell, Katie, Patrick, Adam, and Mercedes."

They all did some gesture of nodding their heads and smiling. I glanced around the fire and waved.

"You can sit here," the girl—I think her name was Mercedes—pointed at the empty space beside her.

Troy pulled me by my hand to sit down. There was only enough space for one person. He looked back, embarrassed.

"It's okay, I'll stand," I offered as I started to pull my hand back from Troy's.

"Don't be silly," Troy replied and yanked me back, forcing me to fall into his lap. "Oops, sorry. But you can sit here."

I held my breath to keep myself from moving. What if I accidentally shifted my weight onto a very sensitive part of Troy's body?

"Hey, why are you so tense?" Troy asked after moving a little bit under me like he was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm not tense," I lied. "This is just how I sit."

"Let's go dance," the guy across from me with the golden blonde locks suggested. His name was Mitchell.

Everyone was getting up to follow him, but I sat just as I was, refusing.

"Don't you wanna go dance?" Troy asked.

"Not really. I don't like dancing."

"Oh, well then I guess that makes two of us."

I continued sitting in his lap even though everyone except Adam and Mercedes had left. I kind of liked it. It felt really weird because my small body fit perfectly into his big, muscular one.

"Be right back," Mercedes called, running over to some other people.

When she came back, she had four sticks and a bag of marshmallows in hand.

She tossed two sticks to Troy and I, and handed Adam the other. The marshmallows were thrown afterward, also.

I was having trouble stabbing the marshmallow with the stick. Yeah, I know, it's pathetic, but it's not my fault the stick was way too thick for any kind of roasting ceremony!

Troy saw my hesitation and helped me out. "Hey," he said, swapping to the other end of my stick, "this side is a lot pointier." He guided my hand that was holding the abused marshmallow from previous attempts and slid it onto the stick. "There, perfect."

I held mine above the flames, right next to Troy's. As mine barely turned golden, I pulled it out.

Troy looked at me like I was insane.

"What? It looks perfect," I defended my marshmallow.

"You're kidding me. The best ones are so _obviously_ supposed to be burnt."

He slickly swiped his marshmallow against the base of the flame and pulled it out. It was almost completely black.

He peeled off some of the extra black crust and threw the rest into his mouth.

"Delish." He smiled and teasingly chewed and swallowed right in front of my face.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww," I exaggerated the gross factor, laughing, "that's disgusting."

"No, it's definitely the best thing I've ever tasted," he said, putting another marshmallow into the fire.

He pulled the second one, which was burnt even more than the first, out and held beside my mouth. "I dare you to try it."

I made a face and shrugged. I used two fingers to gently take it from Troy. I held it away from me, pinching my nose as if I was doing the laundry, and it was Derek's gym socks.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Now I know you're just doing that."

I flicked off some blackened edges. I didn't want to respond so I held my breath and shoved it into my mouth.

It was terrible at first. I could almost taste the smoke it emitted straight out of the fire. Then, when the gooey marshmallow part made its presence, I smiled. It was much better than my golden one that only looked golden on the outside and a total normal marshmallow on the inside.

He must've noticed my smile. "See? I told you it would be really good."

I was about to roast another when the sky crackled. It roared a little more before raindrops fell from above and everyone was scattering around, looking for shelter.

I hopped up from Troy's lap.

"Let's go!" he called.

I ran after him, going toward the direction we came from.

He slowed down when he got to an abandoned parking lot and waited for me.

"You're really slow," he teased.

"Shut up," I said, playfully rolling my eyes.

He held one arm out. "Would you like to accompany me in our walk home?" he asked in a serious but funny tone.

"Why of course." I hooked my arm with his, and we skipped in the rain.

It was really pouring now so I was surprised that Troy could still see where we were going.

We got to his house and our skipping ceased. We walked up the driveway and through the yard. My clothes were sticking to my skin, and it was still hard to see. My foot hit something and I went tumbling forward.

Troy jumped to his right and thankfully caught me before I went rolling down the hill.

"Crap," I said, realizing that I tripped over my own suitcase. All of it was wet. "Well that's okay. At least I have the clothes that… I just got soaked in. This isn't good."

I got my balance back, and Troy carried my bag up to my room for me.

"Thanks. I think I'll check my email first and then I'll get out these wet clothes," I told him, heading for the closet for a nice, fluffy towel. I got the excess water out of my hair and placed the towel on the chair so that I wouldn't ruin anything.

I sat in front of my Macbook, enjoying just the look of it.I glanced through my email, checking for any new messages from my friends back home. There was one single message from Hillarie, my best friend.

_Hey!! How's it going? Is your new house nice? I bet Los Angeles is amazing with all the hot surfers and stuff. I think it's time for you to get a bikini and show off your hot bod! Oh yeah, how'd it go with your dad? It wasn't uncomfortable, was it?_

It was really pointless of her to go on with that because it's typical Hillarie; she asks you about your life and jumps straight back into hers. But, she's my bestie, and I love her anyway.

I kept scrolling down, waiting to get to the part where she starts talking about her life and all the amazing things that have happened in the last two days. I didn't get what I was looking for.

_I miss you so much! I hope you have fun,_

_XOXO Hillarie-CALL ME LIKE LOW!_

What? She didn't say anything about herself. That was a first. And she wasn't upset because she added "call me like low" at the end. (That was our inside joke that we had since fourth grade. We always hid under our beds when we called each other for no reason so whenever we had something fun to talk about, we'd both crawl under our beds and talk from there.)

There had to be something up with that. I replied really fast, not sure whether I should be worried or not.

_Hillarie! It's only been two days and I miss you already. Anyway, the house is really big and fancy. Believe it or not, TROY BOLTON's mom is my dad's girlfriend and he lives with me. How weird is that? Oh, and Troy failed to mention that his mom is LUCILLE BOLTON, the designer from Nordstrom. My room is completely ripped. I now have a Macbook, iTouch, personal plasma screen TV, PS2, Guitar Hero, and a bunch of other crap that I don't need. I absolutely adore it!_

_So what have you been up to? How's cheerleading? Got a new boyfriend? New friends? Old friends? Tell me everything._

_-Gabriella-CALL ME LIKE LOW!_

It took a matter of two minutes for a reply shooting at my inbox.

_You're kidding! THE Troy Bolton? The one who you only talked to through text and ditched you for basketball? NO WAY! Weren't you like, in love with him? And his mom is Lucille Bolton? WOW! Your life sounds amazing! I wish I were there. If that crap is too much for you… You can give it to charity (AKA MEEEE!) Hahaha. Oh yeah, it would be totally awesome if you dated Troy!_

_Love you lots, Hillarie-CALL ME LIKE LOW!_

I stared blankly at the screen. She loves it when people ask about her life, especially new boyfriends. Why isn't she replying to my questions? I mean, now she's suddenly taken complete interest in my love life when she never cared before since I'd only had two boyfriends ever.

I was about to reply, when Troy knocked on my door.

"Come in!" I called.

He walked over to where I was sitting and handed me a pair of basketball shorts and a blue t-shirt that had the Waylen High Knights logo.

"So you don't have to sleep in soggy clothes while the rest of your stuff is being dried in dryer," he explained.

"Thanks. Good night." I waved.

"Good night," he said over his shoulder on his way out.

As I was about to go take a shower, I replied to the email really quickly.

_Yeah, I know. I don't think I'm ready to get into another relationship after what happened with Jason. It hurts too much. –Gabs_

I didn't even put the little ending after my name. I could barely function after thinking about my ex.

I rushed with Troy's clothes into the bathroom. I held my breath as I hopped in the shower.

As soon as the warm water ran down my body, sobs erupted from my throat. I leaned against the cool marble of the wall and sighed, tears streaming down my face. _What a jerk._

**The chapter's name is Marshmallow because that's my favorite part of the chapter. Review :)**


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